FCC Chairman Ajit Pai

On Aug 2, 2019, Reps Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Fred Upton (R-MI) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai about a recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the 5.9 GHz band, urging the FCC to take a technology neutral approach to allow for testing of the Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) communications platform. 

On September 25, 2019 a half dozen Members of Congress from Iowa wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai with concerns that changes to intercarrier compensation could have profound impacts to rural Iowa local exchange carriers (LECs).

Back in July 2019, 14 Members of Congress wrote to the Federal Communications Commission with concerns about the proposed rule "Universal Service Contribution Methodology" and urging the Commission not to establish an overall cap for the Universal Service Fund (USF) or combine the cap of any USF programs, consistent with the recent unanimous vote in the House of Representatives.

On June 24, 2019, Reps Gwen Moore (D-WI) and Debbie Dingell (D-MI) to raise the concerns of domestic violence victims with the news that wireless customers' real-time location data can be acquired from carriers. On December 3, FCC Chairman replied that the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau has been working on this investigation, reviewing over 50,000 pages of documents. "Based on the latest update I have received, the Bureau’s investigation is nearing its conclusion, and I am confident that the Bureau will be able to announce the results no later than the end of January.

In November 2019, Members of Congress wrote to the Federal Communications Commission to express concern that the very brief notice, and even shorter window for filing spectrum license applications in the 2.5 GHz proceeding will prevent many tribes and tribal organizations from taking advantage of the priority window. In addition, they said the FCC request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) expedite its Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) approval of the order may further disadvantage eligible tribes and tribal organizations.

In July 2019, the US Government Accountability Office issued a report recommending that the Federal Communications Commission assess and report on the potential benefits, costs, and challenges of making wireless access off school grounds eligible for E-rate.

At the Federal Communications Commission, we have been working hard to help our nation and our industry seize the opportunities of the new space age. At a 1,600,000-foot view, we see a space industry that is changing, and we’re trying to make sure our regulations change with it. Under my leadership, the FCC has been committed to matching the tempo of the industry we regulate. Our space agenda involves cutting red tape and giving green lights.

In 2012, Congress passed legislation requiring the Federal Communications Commission to reallocate and auction T-Band spectrum used for decades by public safety licensees and fund the relocation of those licensees elsewhere. The agency has extensively analyzed the T-Band and concluded that moving forward is not viable—relocation costs for public safety licensees would likely far exceed any potential auction revenue, making it impossible to fund the relocation and comply with the mandate.

The last Federal Communications Commission meeting of 2019, on December 12, features more than one item that could receive top billing in an ordinary month. The FCC will consider:

After 20 years of seeing these prime airwaves [in the 5.9 GHz band] go largely unused, the time has come for the FCC to take a fresh look at the 5.9 GHz band. And I’m pleased to announce that today, I shared with my FCC colleagues a proposal to end the uncertainty around the 5.9 GHz band and set a path for the deployment of new services. Specifically, I’m proposing to make available the lower 45 MHz of the band for unlicensed uses like Wi-Fi and allocate the upper 20 MHz for a new automotive communications technology, Cellular Vehicle to Everything, or C-V2X.